Static Cafe Becomes Open Cafe
OPEN!
The long long wait is over, Cafe de Leche is open!
It was the strangest thing to see, an Open sign hanging in the window of the corner shop on York Blvd. and Avenue 50. Days, weeks, months, and seasons had past waiting to see this place open, and here I was with the dilemma: Should I stop in and check it out? Hell yeah!
Inside, caffeinated serenity. Outside, the curse of ALZA looks back from The Bicycle Doctor.
I’m glad to say it was well worth the wait. The time spent renovating, and building out the place certainly shows. All the furniture and cabinetry is custom made. The contemporary fixtures mixes well with the vintage brick and glass of the building they occupy. There is a kick-ass toddler play area in the back. Lots of toys, books, chalkboard, pillows, and an amazing 2 by 3 foot wooden block puzzle with Cafe de Leche’s hummingbird logo. (I kept trying to solve it, but my daughter had other plans while supposedly helping me.)
The space is nice (looking forward to seeing some artwork on the walls). But the main attraction is the coffee. Oh the coffee. They are using none other than what I consider to be the best coffee in the world: Intelligentsia. My days and nights of going over to Silverlake and waiting in line are over. (OK, I know Auntie Em’s serves it too.) So good at $2 a cup. They are a full-service espresso bar and have all the regular caffeinetic perversions like Lattes, Cappuccinos, Macchiatos and an Organic Agave Mocha that I’m looking forward to trying. Next week begins their delivery of breads and pastries.
For a place that just opened, I was surprised to see the place full of customers. At one point the line was almost out the door. Turns out there were a lot of people on this side of Highland Park jonesing for a cup of joe. In the cafe there were Highland Parkers reading the cafe’s New York times, kids playing in the toy area, people twittering on their iPhones, and parents enjoying their coffee while it was still hot. (As a parent of a toddler, coffee while still hot can be such a rarefied pleasure.) The overall mood seemed to be a shared sense of being glad we live here, being glad to be here, being glad this day has finally come.
Its a logo! Its a puzzle! It's wooden building blocks!
UPDATE: Their official Grand Opening party is December 12.
Nice article but I noticed several typos — next time, you might want to use spell check and edit a little better.
Wendy,
Get your head out of your ass and bite it hard!!
Fine Day~!
“It’s a small mind that can only think of one way to spell a word.” – Andrew Jackson
One thing that just struck me about this place is how ideal it would be for them to have a small rack of news papers in their store. Plenty of natural light and great view make this a perfect place for reading the paper in and watching street life go by.
If only the sidewalk on York could be widened! Then there would be plenty of room for a small sidewalk table setup.
Wendy, the fact that I can write anything comprehensible is beyond me. Ubrayj02, I too, wish there were more space out front for tables, Maybe they will put some on the Avenue 50 side.
Your ALZA joke got a chuckle out of me, thanks. I’m hoping that they can get some tables on Ave 50 too. Let’s make sure this place stays open!
I live just a few blocks away I had the opportunity to go to both opening parties they had let me tell you the staff is great! the owner and his wife are awesome.. hopefully i can visit more often
Can’t believe I haven’t visited yet. Definitely will do by the end of the week.